Tag Archives: prisons

The nominee to lead Mississippi’s troubled prison system, Burl Cain, spent 21 years as warden of Louisiana’s Angola penitentiary, resigning in early 2016 amid ethics questions about how public money was spent during his tenure. Advocates for inmates’ rights have also condemned his work. “Burl Cain left a legacy of corruption, cruelty and callous disregard for the human lives in ...

Associated Press 05/21/2020Comments Off on Ex-Louisiana warden chosen to lead Mississippi prisons

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that he is nominating a former warden of Louisiana’s Angola prison to take charge of the Mississippi prison system that is under federal investigation and has struggled for years with tight budgets, short staffing and shoddy living conditions. During his 21-year tenure at Angola, Cain was credited with improving conditions and decreasing violence. He ...

Associated Press 03/13/2020Comments Off on Mississippi inmate at least 27th to die since late December

An inmate at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was pronounced dead Thursday, officials said. The man, 42, wasn’t immediately identified but is at least the 27th Mississippi inmate to die since late December. His name would be released once family had been notified of the death, the Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a news release. The inmate was found ...

Associated Press 03/04/2020Comments Off on At least 23rd Mississippi inmate dies since late December

An autopsy will be done on a Mississippi inmate who died Tuesday at a Jackson hospital. The Mississippi Department of Corrections said Grayland Cox, 62, died at Merit Health Central and “no foul play is suspected.” Cox is at least the 23rd Mississippi inmate to die since late December. Some of the deaths happened during outbursts of violence. Some inmates ...

Associated Press 02/21/2020Comments Off on Mississippi moving more inmates out of troubled state prison

Mississippi on Wednesday started transferring more inmates out of a state prison that has been rocked by deadly violence and that is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said about 50 inmates were moved from the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman to the privately run Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) to the ...

Associated Press 02/06/2020Comments Off on Feds investigate Mississippi prisons after string of deaths

The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the Mississippi prison system after a string of inmate deaths in the past few months, officials said Wednesday. Federal prosecutors are looking into conditions at four state prisons after the deaths of at least 15 inmates since late December. The investigation is examining whether state corrections officials are adequately protecting ...

Associated Press 02/03/2020Comments Off on Official disputes account of attempted suicide by inmate

A top official in the Mississippi prison system says an attorney’s account that an inmate recently attempted suicide by hanging is “completely untrue.” Jeworski Mallett said in court papers filed Sunday that an inmate in the Mississippi State Penitentiary on Friday made “a makeshift pull-up exercise device out of what appeared to be shredded bed linens.” Mallett is acting deputy ...

Associated Press 02/03/2020Comments Off on Mississippi has at least 15th inmate death in recent weeks

Another inmate has died in Mississippi, bringing the total to at least 15 in the state prison system since late December. Jesus Garcia, 39, was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, according to a statement from Management & Training Corporation, the private company that operates the prison. A company spokesman, Issa Arnita, said in ...

Associated Press 02/03/2020Comments Off on Analysis: Chairman says prisons should not be warehouses

The new chairman of the Mississippi Senate Corrections Committee inherited a challenging job — sharing oversight of a prison system rocked by violence and burdened by decrepit and underfunded facilities. Democratic Sen. Juan Barnett of Heidelberg said in an interview Thursday that prisons need to be more than warehouses. He also said Mississippi needs to do a better job of ...

Associated Press 01/28/2020Comments Off on Mississippi governor: Close part of notorious state prison

Mississippi will take steps to close part of a state prison that has been rocked by deadly violence and beset by longstanding problems such as broken toilets and moldy showers, Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday in his first State of the State address. At least 12 inmates have died in Mississippi prisons since late December — most of them at ...